The present invention relates to an apparatus for attaching, to a body panel, a vehicle occupant protection member for absorbing impact energy directed to a person's feet, for example, and protecting the person from injury. The present invention also relates to assemblies using such apparatus.
Sheet-form protection members for absorbing impact energy are attached to body panels such as dashboards to protect drivers and other vehicle occupants. See, for example, Laid-Open Patent Application [TOKKAI] No. 2002-331895, gazette (Patent Literature 1). Conventional methods for attaching protection members to body panels include methods such as welding bolt studs at prescribed positions on the body panel, and pushing in cylindrical bodies equipped with flanges to engage bolt studs inside attachment holes. An apparatus for attaching insulators and carpet, somewhat similar to vehicle occupant protection members, to a body panel is disclosed, for example, in Laid-Open Utility Model Application [JIKKAI] No. H5-40034/1993, gazette (Patent Literature 2). In that apparatus, bolt studs are welded to a body panel, and flange-equipped clips are engaged to the bolt studs to attach the insulators and carpet. Such an attachment scheme requires that bolt studs be welded at prescribed positions on the body panels, requiring welding equipment and increasing work steps and work time on automobile manufacturing or assembly lines.
Laid-Open Patent Application No. S59-164238/1984, gazette (Patent Literature 3) discloses an apparatus for attaching insulators and carpet to body panels using clips, with the intent of improving the way things are done prior to directly attaching insulators and carpet to body panels with screws. Using this apparatus, main clip units are affixed to the body panels with screws, clip guide plates are secured to the insulators, the clip guide plates are coupled, so that they can slide, to flange parts of the main clip units, and the insulators and carpet are thereby attached to the body panels. Even with this attachment apparatus, however, on an automobile manufacturing or assembly line, the operation of screwing the main clip units to the body panels is necessary and, although no equipment such as a welder is necessary, many work steps and much work time are required on the manufacturing or assembly line.
In Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. H2-56732/1990, gazette (Patent Literature 4) is disclosed an attachment structure by which a plastic panel having engagement projections projecting downward is affixed to the underside of the edges of carpet, the engagement projections are inserted into attachment holes in a deck, and the edges of the carpet are attached to the deck. Because the carpet attached to the deck is a sheet-form member exhibiting considerably high hardness but lower elasticity than soft elastic sheet-form members such as vehicle occupant protection members or insulators and the like, the plastic panel having engagement projections projecting downward can be definitely secured. However, in the case of soft elastic sheet-form members such as vehicle occupant protection members or insulators, if a plastic panel having downwardly projecting projections is affixed and engagement projections are inserted into the body panel, because of the soft and elastic properties, the engagement force will be small, and it is very difficult to obtain a condition wherein definite securing to the body panel is effected.